Phase 1I1: 15 April - 28 April 

NÚI EK MOUNT

                        

 The objective of this phase was to gain control of the high ground north of Dak Seang, in particular FSB 31, a dominant piece of terrain on Nui Ek Mountain three kilometers due north of Dak Seang. Most of the heaviest fighting throughout this phase involved friendly units engaged in operations around Nui Ek. It was not until 25 April that a successful combat assault finally captured the FSB on the mountain. Once Nui Ek and the high ground to the north of Dak Seang were taken, however, activity in the Dak Seang campaign decreased notably until the campaign was closed. Some of the more significant engagement of this phase are described below. On 15 April a combat assault of ARVN forces was attempted on Nui Ek Mountain. The first four helicopters in the assault received extremely' heavy fire, which downed one chopper and forced the other three to abort. The Army was unable to extract the survivors of the crash, but an Air Force task force finally-did make a successful .rescue but-only after losing 31/ another helicopter in the attempt. On 16 April, it was decided to insert the 3rd ARVN Battalion of the 42nd Infantry Regiment into a secure area one kilometer east of Dak Seang. This unit was then to attack to the north towards the FSB on the mountain. On the 17th the battalion made contact with enemy forces two kilometers northeast of the camp and sustained light casualties, and on the 18th as 5- they attempted to continue to the north they met increased enemy resistance. m 

 The 20th of April was characterized by standoff attacks directed against the various elements of the 42nd Regiment and the fire support Um bases. During the night, the Ist Battalion of this regiment received heavy attacks on its position just to the northeast of Dak Seang -- attacks which  used flares, mortars, and B-40* fire as well as ground probes. Shadow (AC-119G) and Stinger (AC-119K) gunships were used for support throughout the night, and at dawn tac air was called in and the enemy's attacks were repulsed. April 21 and 22 followed a similar pattern with frequent attacks by fire, sporadic shellings and ground probes against positions throughout the area and continued heavy pressure on the lst and 3rd Battalions in their attempts to move to the north. In fact, the Ist Battalion had suffered so many casualties by the 23rd of April, it was ordered to with draw to Camp Dak Seang. Its withdrawal resulted in the enemy increasing his pressure on the 3rd Battalion, and on 24 April it was therefore decided 3- to insert the 2nd Battalion on a combat assault on the fire support base atop Nul Ek. Throughout all these enemy attacks and friendly assaults; gun m1 1 i ships, tac air and Arc Light sorties provided invaluable support to the 23/ ARVN. * RPG-2 Recoilless antitank launcher type weapon. .UNCLASSIFIED On the 25th the insertion at Nui Ek was completed, and, with the help of tac air, the friendlies were able to stay in the area. The 3rd Battalion then began to move back to the south towards Dak Seang, and on April 26 they set up just outside the CIDG camp while awaiting extraction on the 27th. Contacts throughout the day of the 27th were very light, and by 1345 hours the extraction of the 3rd Battalion was completed. At the same time, two ARVN battalions of the 45th Regiment started moving north toward Dak Seang. The 28th saw relatively light action with standoff attacks for the most part against friendly positions around the camp. Additional troops were inserted at Nui Ek to increase the security of this high ground to the north, thus completing Phase III. Phase IV: 29 April - 6 May April 29 was a continuation of the lull of the previous two days. Ground action for the day was limited to the two battalions (the 2nd and the 4th) of the 45th Regiment. The 2nd Battalion had a TIC one kilometer northeast of Dak Seang in which they employed artillery, mortars, and tactical air. The 4th Battalion, less than one kilometer away, encountered heavy resistance; and, following an unsuccessful assault on the enemy, they were forced to withdraw and call in more artillery and air strikes. These contacts of the 29th continued on the 30th which also saw artillery and tactical air in supporting roles. The plan of operation for I May was to employ tac air on the area where the 4/45 Battalion had had the contact the day before, followed by a sweep of the area. The only other ground action that took place was far to the south in an area southeast of Ben Het. I 3 I 3 12UNCLASSIFIED i ' I The 2nd of May found the 45th Regiment engaged with the enemy in what was believed to be a delaying action. The 2/45 Battalion was in contact with an estimated company size unit two kilometers north of Dak Seang on the lower slopes of Nui Ek Mountain. After about two hours of heavy fighting, the 2/45 Battalion withdrew 100 meters to allow gunships, tactical air, Eartillery, and mortars to pound the fleeing enemy. Little further activity Itook place on 2 May and 3 May. The 2/45 Battalion made a sweep of their 5 I S 3 I 3 I Im area on the 3rd but found no enemy. On the same day the enemy did, however, initiate contacts in the Dak Pek area as a diversionary tactic to cover his withdrawal. Activity continued to decrease on 4 and 5 May, and on 6 May there was only one standoff attack reported. ARVN activity on the 6th was, for the most part, devoted to-searching the area for friendly bodies that had been left on the battlefields in previous engagements.36/ Phase V: 7 May - 9 May Like the previous few days, there was little activity on 7 May and the enemy continued to withdraw from the Dak Seang area. Sweep operations were continued in the vicinity of FSB31 on Nui Ek, and there was some contact with small enemy units. On 8 May friendly forces devoted most of their time to troop movements and exchanges whereby units which had seen the heaviest fighting were relieved by fresh troops. Then, too, there were extractions of units back to their base camps as they were no longer needed 37/ in the campaign which was drawing to a close. The end of the campaign on 9 May, like so many in Vietnam, was not marked by the dramatic surrender of any enemy force. Instead, activit